


harkening

by leedeeloo



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Gen, chlorine scented, implications of treason, late night heart to heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 04:19:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16256531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leedeeloo/pseuds/leedeeloo
Summary: For twrptober day 10, home.Sung and Phobos talk about the possibility of going back.





	harkening

**Author's Note:**

> i made sure you couldn't glean a goddamn single thing from those tags

It was hard to pinpoint really when they started talking about Phobos’ former home. It was an on going topic of discussion between Sung and Phobos, equal parts Sung’s curiosity, and Phobos’ means of coping. 

Home would come up on clear nights, Phobos pointing to the sky. He used to point it out, mention that’s where it was, where his planet hung in the sky, but now all he had to do was tilt his head in its direction. It was like a familiar constellation, obvious among the stars. 

On tour this was both harder and easier to do. They were no longer under a familiar patch of sky, but it was still a comfort to find the just right spot, his own personal Polaris. Sometimes it felt like things were turned upside down in their lives, their routines, but he was always able to center himself at that distant point. 

Phobos had an uncanny ability to find places to sit. He’d found the one crooked chair on the motel patio, looking out over the illuminated pool and into the line of trees separating this motel property from the one next door.There was a constant rumble of cars passing the street in front of the building, muffled.

Sung found him, and, unable to find another chair, sat on the ground next to Phobos. 

They were quiet for a long while before Sung finally spoke, “Do you ever think about going back?”

There was no response for a minute, and when Sung finally turned and looked, Phobos shook his head.

“We could, you know.”

The chair creaked as Phobos moved. He slid out of it and pushed it back, sitting on the ground next to Sung and bumping their knees together. 

_ What do you mean? _ He asked.

Sung gave a non-committal half shrug. “I’ve been looking into things. I could repair the ship. I don’t think everything was destroyed.” 

Phobos made a soft hum. Stared at the sky. 

_ Of course not, _ he finally responded.  _ You think I didn’t know that the day we left? That at most, it was just the country gutted? _ He shifted, leaned forward, brought his gaze to the ground, the concrete.  _ The capital probably got the brunt of it. There were survivors, no doubt. _

Sung perked up, like he was suddenly filled with air. Held onto it, tense, upright. He didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to know the answer, but asked anyway, “do you want to go back?”

_ No _ . 

The instant answer shocked Sung; his mouth fell open, and he waited for Phobos to continue. 

Phobos bumped his shoulder against Sung’s, almost leaning on him.  _ Think about it. A country gets destroyed, and a hundred years later someone pops up claiming to be their Lord? _ He shook his head, started drawing circles on the ground with his finger.  _ You’d lock them up. _

“It hasn’t been a hundred years,” was all Sung could say. 

_ Not here, no _ . Phobos’ fingers tapped the ground, slowly, methodically, as if he were counting or keeping track of something.  _ I borrowed some of your equipment. Just once. Just to try and calculate how long it had been there. Back home. If we left now, what the time difference would be. _

“When did you borrow my stuff? I don’t-- when did you ask?” Sung got distracted by that single point, making Phobos give a crooked smile as he responded.

_ A couple years ago. I asked if I could borrow your maps, and you said ‘yeah, sure, whatever,’ so I knew you didn’t hear me but I didn’t want you to ask why _ . As Phobos imitated Sung’s response telepathically, he brought his hands up in air quotes, put on a mimicry of Sung’s voice in his mind, opened and closed his mouth out of sync with his words.

Sung scoffed, muttered, “I can’t believe this,” and Phobos continued on, dropping the mockery.

_ But, by now, with the warping and traveling through space, if we went back home, it’ll have gone around the sun over a hundred times even though it hasn’t been nearly that long here. _ He sat up straight, coming away from Sung, He stretched his arms over his head, pulling his fingers, his hands back.  _ Could you imagine? Someone claiming to be a politician from a country that was destroyed in a freak accident shows up? No one would believe them. _

Sung chuckled, soft, light. He leaned forward, and Phobos brought his arms down, resting one across Sung’s back, tapping his shoulder. “But what if it wasn’t all destroyed?”

_ Then I’m a traitor _ .

Phobos could feel Sung suck in a breath, hold it. He squeezed Sung’s shoulder.

_ I left my people. Left my planet. No body, no indication of what happened to me. _ His grip started to tighten, just slightly, his fingers digging in just a little on that sharp point. His words in Sung’s mind were level, something he’d thought out thoroughly, but he still couldn’t let go of their meaning.  _ I abandoned everyone as soon as things turned sour. _ He brought his hand down Sung’s back, to behind himself, leaning back, palms against the ground. 

Sung kept quiet, letting the weight of that fully settle. If that meant anything for them here. If they could ever leave Earth with that hanging over Phobos, over all of them.

_ I think about going back, don’t get me wrong. _ This all sounded practiced, like Phobos had been waiting for the chance to talk about this.  _ But  _ back _ back, you know? Back before anything happened. See what kind of life I would have had _ .

“Yeah?” Sung asked under his breath, “you think about that a lot?”

_ I’m happy here _ , Phobos responded right away,  _ if that’s what you were worried about _ .

Sung opened his mouth, shut it, laughed at himself. “Now that you said it, yeah, I was worried, yeah.” He mimicked Phobos’ posture, leaning back on his hands. He watched the pool; there were lights inside the perimeter, making a blue web stretch out across the ground. He could smell the chlorine, it hung in the air and made it to the parking lot, clung to the doors of the rooms. “I’m happy you’re here, too.”

_ Thanks. _

The conversation ended and they stared out; out past the pool, trying to peek past the trees, or up into the sky, into something left behind. 

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you thought about this!!


End file.
